State may change funding formula on kindergarten to make full-day programs the standard

Teacher Liz Albertson sings a song with her kindergarten class at Paw Paw Early Elementary.

KALAMAZOO— There’s little debate in the education community about the benefits of full-day kindergarten. But right now, an unintended consequence of Michigan’s school funding formula is a financial incentive to keep kindergarten as a half-day program.

The Legislature appears ready to change the formula to make full-day kindergarten the standard across the state. But what is viewed as a gain for children and families is decried by some as another financial burden for schools when they can least afford it.

It’s a complicated situation that gets into a little-known nuance of Michigan’s K-12 funding: Elementary students, in effect, subsidize the education of secondary students, and a change in the funding formula for kindergartners might result in program cuts for older children.

Currently, the state pays the standard per-pupil foundation grant of $7,316 for all kindergartners, even if they are in half-day programs.

“The Legislature is trying to position this as, ‘It’s only fair,’” said Tom Noverr, assistant superintendent of operations for Portage Public Schools.

But that logic ignores the realities of school funding, he said. While the state’s per-pupil foundation allowance may be sufficient for elementary students, it comes “nowhere close” to covering the per-pupil costs of operating a high school. Those extra expenses include specialized classes, such as art, theater and vocational education programs; extracurricular activities, including athletics, and more expensive facilities, such as science labs, swimming pools and football stadiums.

“That’s why most charter schools are elementaries,” Noverr said. “It’s not profitable to run a high school.”

Regular school systems handle the problem by using the money they receive from elementary students — including half-day kindergartners — to subsidize secondary programs, he said.

“So to say this is ‘only fair,’ only looks at one piece of the puzzle,” Noverr said.

The change in state policy isn’t a problem for most area districts, which already have full-day kindergarten. A Kalamazoo Gazette examination of the area’s 35 school districts found seven districts with half-day kindergarten: Portage, Mattawan, Vicksburg, Parchment, Schoolcraft, Allegan and Plainwell — and the latter two say they will have full-day kindergarten in the fall regardless of what happens in Lansing.

However, Comstock and Kalamazoo also would be impacted by a change in the funding formula. That’s because Kalamazoo now pays for full-day kindergarten with Title I funds, which no longer could be used for that purpose. Comstock has kindergartners in school for a half day and sends them to its community center for the other half day, which is less expensive than regular full-day kindergarten. A change in the rules means both districts would have to fund full-day kindergarten from their already-strapped general operating budgets.

“Do I think all-day kindergarten is good for kids? Absolutely,” said Ron Fuller, superintendent of the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency. “But it’s, in effect, another funding cut.”

Portage weighs options

Portage is a good example of the financial impact that could result with a change in the funding formula.

If the policy change on kindergarten is enacted this fall, Portage would lose $2 million if it continued to have half-day kindergarten and another $600,000 for Young Fives, which is a transitional program for 4- and 5-year-olds who might not be ready for regular kindergarten.

Portage could switch to all-day kindergarten, although officials want to keep Young Fives as a half-day program. That appears to make financial sense: Noverr estimates the cost of going to all-day kindergarten would be $700,000 in exchange for not losing $2 million in state funding.

But the district still would need to cut $700,000 elsewhere to fund all-day kindergarten, as well as absorb the $600,000 reduction in funding for Young Fives. In all, the change in the funding formula would, at best, cost the district $1.3 million.

That’s not the only problem. Noverr said the move to a full-day program would double the space requirements for kindergarten, and the district would have to find 14 available classrooms among its eight elementary schools.

If, and when, the funding formula is changed, Bird said, the district will move to all-day kindergarten. But that means finding room for five to seven more kindergarten classrooms.

“It would be very challenging,” Bird said. “We may have to get rid of our only media room and potentially several computer labs, and we may have to purchase more portable classrooms.”

Benefits recognized

One factor not in dispute is the benefits of all-day kindergarten for children and families — which is why full-day programs are so common throughout the region despite the current financial disincentive. Not only do children benefit educationally, but families like the convenience of having kindergartners on the same schedule as older children.

Roger Rathburn, superintendent of Three Rivers Community Schools, said his district initially limited full-day kindergarten to at-risk students who needed an educational boost.

But the program was so successful academically and so popular among parents, that it’s been expanded to all kindergartners. Plus, he said, the savings from eliminating the midday bus run helped minimize the costs.

“In the end, it didn’t really cost us that much to make the move,” Rathburn said, “and it’s certainly good for kids.”